The Foundation: For California surfers like Mikey Todd, shortboards that can create speed are crucial.

A slightly wider nose area gives the board an outline that pulls it down the line and holds power. California's beachbreaks are not the most powerful waves in the world, and because of this Cali pros have quivers full of boards just like this one–standard shortboard shape with a bit more width and a bit less rocker. These boards are built for creating speed, as opposed to Hawai'ian shortboards and small guns, which are designed for controlling it.

A fuller squash tail (usually up to 1/2″ wider than standard squashes) gives the board more tail area and allows for straighter rails from the wide point of the board through the tail.

Low-entry nose rocker on the bottom of the board fades into a subtle, single concave that becomes deepest between the front fins. The rocker breaks behind the front fins for better release on tailslides and slashing turns.

Soft (round) rails are more forgiving in Southern California's sloppier, windier beachbreaks. Soft edges fade into a hard rail near the tail for bite.

Because Mikey Todd is a front-foot surfer, this particular board is thicker under his front foot. This also streamlines the release of water off the tail.

While this board has True Aim glass-on fins, M.B. says these boards go well with Futures or just about any other fin system on the market.